Spain fines companies after breaking fruit packaging price fixing ring

By Rory Harrington

- Last updated on GMT

Spain fines companies after breaking fruit packaging price fixing ring

Related tags Groupe guillin Cartel Linpac

The Spanish competition authority has handed out multi-million Euro fines to Linpac, Groupe Guillin and ILPA for their part in a fruit and vegetable packaging price-fixing cartel spanning eight years.

However, Linpac and its Spanish subsidiary Infia, escaped paying financial penalties totalling over €8m after turning whistleblower and co-operating with the cartel probe, said Spain’s competition watchdog the Comision Nacional de la Competencia (CNC).

Italy-based ILPA told FoodProductionDaily.com today it accepted the company had been involved but had lodged an appeal with the CNC on the grounds that its presence in the Spanish market over the price-fixing period had been “marginal”.

Price fixing summits

The CNC announced last month that, following an 18-month investigation, the three companies had been penalized for operating the price fixing ring in direct contravention of the Spanish Competition Act 15/2007 between 1999 and 2007.

The body said the cartel – made up of those manufacturing and marketing fruit and vegetable packaging - met to conspire to fix prices and share out clients.

In statements made to Spanish authorities, Linpac said price-fixing summits were “systematically held at the start of the campaigns by some of the companies in the sector”.

Attending the meetings were Infia, Autobar - now known as Veripack Embalajes, S.L Nespak, ILPA, Plastic Company and ISAP Packaging. Also involved were Plasticos Alzira, distributor of ISAP, as well as Agrovenas and Europlastic del Penedes.

CNC said the subsequent implementation and control of the agreements was monitored by means of bilateral contracts.

“The aim of all of these actions, according to the applicant for leniency [INFIA], was to limit competition in the market for the manufacture and marketing of plastic baskets for packaging fruit and vegetables,”​ it added.

This was particularly aimed at disposable plastic polymer baskets and tubs for fruit in the Heulva region of southern Spain.

The main period for the price fixing occurred between 2000 and 2004. After this time, members of the cartel argued, although some remained in touch until 2008, said the CNC

Proof, leniency and an appeal

The investigation, carried out between May 2010 and December 2011, concluded that there was proof that Infia – and its parent company Linpac- along with ILPA, Veripack and its parent company French firm Groupe Guillin, had taken part in a cartel from 1999 to 2007.

The fine for Infia was initially set at €8.3m, for which Linpac was jointly and severally liable in the sum of €7.7m. But the CNC said both had been exempted for their co-operation.

A Linpac spokesman said the company was “pleased” with the decision.

“Infia Spain co-operated fully with the CNC throughout this inquiry, and we have put in place comprehensive compliance training to ensure that our managers are fully briefed on their legal obligations, including in respect of Spanish and EU competition law,”​ he added.

Veripack was fined €2.8m, for which Groupe Guillin would also be jointly and severally liable for €2.2m.

FoodProductionDaily.com contacted Groupe Guillin but the company did not respond before publication.

The CNC handed ILPA a fine of just over €1m.

A spokesman for the Italian company told this publication it had already appealed to the Spanish authorities asking them to review the size of the penalty as it share of the market in Spain during the period was only around 5%.

“We take responsibility as the evidence is that our sales structure took part in these meetings​,” he said. “We have asked the CNC to review the fine as we believe it is not fully justified given our marginal Spanish market presence.”

The company said that since 2006, it had overhauled its middle management and partners involved in the activities sanctioned by the Spanish Authority.

“This renewal has also led to a greater and more qualified presence in the Spanish market,”​ it added.

Related topics Processing & Packaging

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